Bonnet fit (panel gap)

[jaguar&mg]

Anyone have any ideas on how to solve this horrid gap at the top of the bonnet? Or does anyone know of someone in the South-West Uk who might do that sort of [tricky] work?

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[cass3958]

There are two things that might cause this gap and I know as I have the same thing on one side.
First in my case the previous owner paid a bunch of Monkeys to weld on a new front wing on to the car which they did without lining up the gap by putting the bonnet on before starting the welding. No chance of rectifying it unless I cut the wing off and start again. My bonnet is flush at the top and the gap increases as it gets closer to the front of the car.
The second reason is the adjustment of the hinge. Your gap appears to be at the top end and the photo does not show if this gap runs all the way to the front. But if the gap is just at the top then you could adjust the hinge. The hinge is bolted to the bonnet and you could lift the height of the bonnet at this point with washers but no good if you are trying to lower it. So the hinge is bolted to the side of the inner wing by four bolts and what you could do is loosen these bolts off slightly and push the bonnet and hinge down so it sits tighter to the wing then cinch up the bolts again. If the bolts are tight against the holes already you could try to elongate the holes in the hinge plate with a die grinder or file which will allow you to push the bonnet down enough to close the gap up.

[Glyn Ruck]

If the body has not been butchered then aligning the bonnet chrome strip with the scuttle chrome strip usually requires adjustment of the hinge where it attaches to the inner wing. It can be a bit of a fiddle because the hinge pins are a fairly lose fit in their holes.Takes patience to get right.

[jaguar&mg]

There are two things that might cause this gap and I know as I have the same thing on one side.
First in my case the previous owner paid a bunch of Monkeys to weld on a new front wing on to the car which they did without lining up the gap by putting the bonnet on before starting the welding. No chance of rectifying it unless I cut the wing off and start again. My bonnet is flush at the top and the gap increases as it gets closer to the front of the car.
The second reason is the adjustment of the hinge. Your gap appears to be at the top end and the photo does not show if this gap runs all the way to the front. But if the gap is just at the top then you could adjust the hinge. The hinge is bolted to the bonnet and you could lift the height of the bonnet at this point with washers but no good if you are trying to lower it. So the hinge is bolted to the side of the inner wing by four bolts and what you could do is loosen these bolts off slightly and push the bonnet and hinge down so it sits tighter to the wing then cinch up the bolts again. If the bolts are tight against the holes already you could try to elongate the holes in the hinge plate with a die grinder or file which will allow you to push the bonnet down enough to close the gap up.

This is beyond my ability! I will need to find someone to do it for me.

[jaguar&mg]

It can be a bit of a fiddle because the hinge pins are a fairly lose fit in their holes.Takes patience to get right.

... so finding someone to do it will be a challenge! I wish I had more ability myself.

[cass3958]

The second reason is the adjustment of the hinge.

You can easily check if the hinges have not been adjusted correctly. There are four bolts that hold the hinge to the inner wing. Undo the four bolts on the side where you have the gap just enough so the hinge is able to move up and down against the inner wing. Close the bonnet down and apply pressure to the edge that has the gap. The bonnet should be able to be pushed down so the gap closes. If it does you might need some help at this point. Open the bonnet back up and get someone to apply pressure to the bonnet forcing it down in that corner whilst you tighten up the bolts. Close the bonnet and see if it has closed the gap sufficiently.

[jaguar&mg]

The second reason is the adjustment of the hinge.

You can easily check if the hinges have not been adjusted correctly. There are four bolts that hold the hinge to the inner wing. Undo the four bolts on the side where you have the gap just enough so the hinge is able to move up and down against the inner wing. Close the bonnet down and apply pressure to the edge that has the gap. The bonnet should be able to be pushed down so the gap closes. If it does you might need some help at this point. Open the bonnet back up and get someone to apply pressure to the bonnet forcing it down in that corner whilst you tighten up the bolts. Close the bonnet and see if it has closed the gap sufficiently.

This is now done — with help, as suggested — and is much better, though not by any means perfect.

Thank you.

[cass3958]

Glad you found some adjustment in the hinge. No one else would have noticed the gap but it is possibly something you saw everyday as a chasm you had to address.lol. I have lots of little bits like this on my car that no one else can see but I think they look awful.